London to New York in three hours: First photos of Airbus

London to New York in just three hours? It may sound like a pipe dream but it could all become reality in less than 10 years.

Airbus and Aerion have announced that they hope their AS2 supersonic private jet will be running test flights as soon as 2021 and commercial flights could be taking place from 2023, the Daily Mail reports.

The plane is expected to reach speeds of 1,217mph - which is only slightly slower than the top speed of 1,350mph that Concorde reached in the past.

This will mean planes leaving London airports will be capable of reaching New York in just three hours which will make a significant difference to those making the journey as flights currently take between seven and eight hours.

According to the Mirror, Airbus has said that the design of the plane will mean that sonic booms created by travelling at high speed will be significantly reduced.

When the initial announcement was made, Aerion CEO Doug Nichols said: "The message from many of today\\\'s long-range business jet operators is very clear: They want a supersonic jet sooner rather than later; a cabin comparable in comfort to today\\\'s long-range jets; a range of 5,000 nm or better; and they are willing to pay more than $100 million for such an aircraft. That is the supersonic jet we are working to deliver."

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According to the original release from Aerion the plane will have a 30 foot cabin and a baggage compartment that can be accessed while the plane is in the air.

Allan McArtor, Chairman and CEO of Airbus Group said: "The collaboration between Aerion and Airbus Group has been extremely beneficial and productive".

He added: "The further we proceed along the development path with Aerion, the greater our enthusiasm for this program and the deeper our commitment. Under our new agreement, our two companies are working as one to bring Aerion\\\'s supersonic AS2 to the business jet market."

In a statement from May this year Aerion Corporation stated the price of the jet would be a staggering $120 million and that they want to launch this to 50 customers initially.

Aerion Chairman Robert M. Bass. said: "We are offering a select group of forward thinking business aviation users the opportunity to fly faster and to make history with us as we reintroduce commercial
supersonic flight."

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